Sunday, December 9, 2007

Tips For Fixing A Lagging Upper Chest

For many bodybuilders, a set of thick pectoral muscles comes fast and easy. They do their bench presses and dumbbell presses, and within a few years they have a very solid foundation, an epicenter for the eyes to land when examining any front pose. They show up at the gym, run through 3 or 4 sets of benching exercises, and call it a day, and they show up on the bodybuilding stage with those shelf-like pecs we all dream of possessing.

For others, a well-developed chest takes a not only great deal of time and effort to build the muscle, but a few key processes. Isolating the correct areas using the correct focus is the key to a balanced, complete set of pectoral muscles.

Focus on the upper chest

In the majority of cases of bodybuilders with underdeveloped pectorals, the problem isn't a lack of lower pec development. The base formed from an early program consisting of many bench presses often leaves most intermediate bodybuilders with well-developed ! lower pecs. However the lack of an incline bench in many trainers' home gym means that upper pecs aren't addressed until the bodybuilder joins a complete gym and discovers he possesses a chest imbalance. If your upper chest is thin, employ a 3:1 set ratio (upper chest : lower chest) until the imbalance is corrected. Use flyes, bench press, and dumbbell presses to improve the lagging area.

Find the contraction

Many people climb on the bench and just try like crazy to move the weight. They grunt, they push, they heave and strain, and they get that weight to move. This is great if the sport is powerlifting and the goal is to move a set poundage at whatever cost. But the goal of bodybuilders isn't to move any set number of pounds - it is to stimulate the muscle to grow. This is done through slower, more focused repetitions in which the bodybuilder contracts the muscle in order to move as much blood as possible to the region. Feel the chest working. This also ! helps to remove the shoulders and triceps from this movement. ! You'll w ant to force the chest to do as much of the work as possible.

A lagging upper chest is very common for intermediate bodybuilders due to the lack of good information, as well as incline benches, available to new trainers. Recognizing the deficiency and correcting it through focused training is the key to success!

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.